Dyson isn't saying exactly what “Project N223″ is just yet, but the company has been spending a lot on robotics. They made a £5 million investment into robotic vision research, which was conducted with the Imperial College London. Even prior to this investment, Dyson has been engaged in a 15 year project studying systems that allow robotic devices to see and analyse their surroundings, which has clear benefits for robot vacuum cleaners.

While the company continues to unveil innovations to its upright and cordless vacuum products to compete with the likes of Hoover and iRobot's Roomba, it also has its eyes on one day being a player in the connected home via its investments in robotic technology. Dyson could also one day open flagship stores of its own, according to CEO Max Conze.

Clearly, we are being primed for something.

The only snippet of information to accompany the mysterious video above, reads: "Sixteen years. 200 engineers. £28 million investment. The result? Tell us what you think it is."

The drawings on the patent appear to be the long-shelved DC06, but that is all that is needed to re-establish the patent.

My money is on a robotic vacuum that instead of using the 'flick up the dirt' technique as used by Roomba, will employ some suction and a cyclone of some kind. I expect a derivative of the technology used in the hand held Dysons.

I've seen the articles on my blinkfeed all day, endgadget saying that its the first robotic machine! Keep meaning to comment about the dc06!

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Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

The Dyson 360 Eye is due for release 14 years after the company first revealed plans for a robot vacuum

British engineering company Dyson has announced its first robot vacuum cleaner at an event in Tokyo.

The Dyson 360 Eye joins a crowded market - Hoover, iRobot, Samsung, Neato and Vileda are among other manufacturers to sell such products.

But the Cotswolds-based company says its machine has more powerful suction and should be better at spotting dirt thanks to a "unique" camera system.

One expert said the claims sounded "quite compelling".

Sir James Dyson has opted to offer the machine to Japan first

"Up until this point robot vacuums have been objects of geek affection.

"Certainly our experience of the competitors has been that they may do more on the robotics side of things than they do on the rather important business of cleaning your floors."

The machine is due to go on sale in Japan in the first three months of 2015, and then elsewhere later in the year.

Dyson previously showed off another robot vacuum cleaner - the DC06 - in 2001, but cancelled the project a few years later, in part because it would have cost consumers $3,000 (£1,820) or more.

It has yet to announce the price of the new model.

App-controlled cleaner

According to Dyson, most other robot vacuums use "weak, inefficient motors" in order to conserve battery life.

By contrast, it uses the same V2 digital motor found in its other handheld vacuum cleaners, and combines it with a brush bar that covers the full width of the machine, rather than relying on side sweepers.

"We've been developing for a number of years some of the smallest and most powerful digital motors available, and getting that right has enabled us to give the machine very powerful suction, so it can have a very high performance clean," Nick Schneider, a design engineer at the company, told the BBC.

Dyson 360 Eye

Dyson claims its full-width brush bar is more efficient than side sweeping brushes found on rival models"In addition we've developed a vision system that enables the machine to be very methodical in its clean and not miss sections of floor space."

The vacuum is fitted with a panoramic lens, which sits on top of a camera that captures 360-degree views at 30 frames a second. This is combined with data from infrared sensors to let the machine's internal computer make sense of its position and surroundings.

Another innovation is the ability to schedule a clean remotely via an Android or iOS app.

Although other robot vacuums tend to have less suction power than human-directed vacuums, they make up for this by taking several passes at each room. So, it remains to be seen if Dyson's model actually leaves owners with cleaner homes.

Mr Schneider also acknowledged that the new machine remained less powerful than his company's plug-in-and-push models, meaning it would take longer to do a big clean. But he said it might still be the preferable option for families with a house layout that suited the automated tech.

"We're a way off in terms of comparing it to our corded machines," he said.

"But the benefit that it has is that you don't have to be there to use it.

"So, perhaps even if the performance isn't quite what you'd expect from a DC41 [full-size upright vacuum], the benefit of the convenience of just being able to set it whenever, and not having to worry about it, I think, is its real appeal."

Tbh the edge cleaning looks a bit poor. I presume its just the current handheld cyclone, motor, brushroll and battery tech, with some Lego technic and a phone app underneath the shiny plastic?

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Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Their made of paper aren't they? Maybe that's why the robot vac with the suction of a handheld will sell well, no more sucking up the house!

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Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Is Japan a hot or cold country?Many Asian homes have marble floors because Asian countries are hot? I think so

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DC14s are tanks, just need a slightly longer motor life. Do plastic parts often break on DC14s? Nope. DC41- Sexy looking futuristic and powerful machine. Just needs a better designed cleaner head wheel and cyclone clip along with a dense metal rod in the chassis.

Is Japan a hot or cold country?Many Asian homes have marble floors because Asian countries are hot? I think so

I haven't been to Japan, but in China (generally a hot place) most floors seem to be hard. I doubt its so different in Japan. As you note, in Asia generally, hard floors are the norm. That is the same for Russia too (which straddles Asia and Europe). Most of mainland Europe as well. When I go to Holland, Poland, the Baltics, France or Germany, the only carpets you see are upstairs (if any). Its the UK and the US that have the carpet fixation.

My wife for example (originally from the Euro/Asia border in central Russia) is highly suspicious of carpets in the home as germ breeding grounds. She wants surfaces that can be mopped, wiped and/or otherwise sterilised. Thus, in our house, carpet is only to be found on the stairs (and she wanted oak or glass treads there as well).

Robots are better suited to hard floors (I first saw a Roomba years ago in Holland on a hard floor). And most of the world has hard floors. Dyson likely isn't too worried about some Brits and a few Yanks crowing they are not terribly effective on their 1952 Axminster when most of Europe (many countries), Oz (big place), Asia (most people) and Russia (biggest country) have hard floors and let them run when they are at work as is the norm with Roomba users in Europe.

Interesting, especially with the carpets being germ breeding, bu then again you can steam clean/shampoo if desired

Our house is 3 storeys and sadly the entire ground floor is tile flooring, the whole top floor is all laminate and the middle floor is also laminate (minus the landing and two staircases) and my bedroom is the only room with an actual carpet. We have large area rugs downstairs and I hate it

My auntie has a carpeted home (except the bathroom and kitchen) and I find it more comfortable, probably due to it being a carpeted home and I can walk on the floor with no worries like at home. I would have the floor steam cleaned about twice a day in order for me to be satisfied but it's a pain, IMHO carpets all the way lol.

I just feel as though carpets get a proper clean with a beastly machine (a vacuum) and hard floors just get wiped with a mop :| Kind of stupid but that's OCD anxieties for you

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DC14s are tanks, just need a slightly longer motor life. Do plastic parts often break on DC14s? Nope. DC41- Sexy looking futuristic and powerful machine. Just needs a better designed cleaner head wheel and cyclone clip along with a dense metal rod in the chassis.

I think carpets on stairs is a must, imagine walking down oak wooden stairs with socks on

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DC14s are tanks, just need a slightly longer motor life. Do plastic parts often break on DC14s? Nope. DC41- Sexy looking futuristic and powerful machine. Just needs a better designed cleaner head wheel and cyclone clip along with a dense metal rod in the chassis.

Thats good if there are no problems, I dont think they are good in the UK as the staircases in an average UK home is quite narrow or 'isolated'

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DC14s are tanks, just need a slightly longer motor life. Do plastic parts often break on DC14s? Nope. DC41- Sexy looking futuristic and powerful machine. Just needs a better designed cleaner head wheel and cyclone clip along with a dense metal rod in the chassis.